Esteban Cambiasso

Esteban Cambiasso - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of Esteban Cambiasso

Esteban Matías Cambiasso Deleau (born 18 August 1980), nicknamed "Cuchu", is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

This profile of Esteban Cambiasso covers Early Career and Breakthrough, Inter Milan, Leicester City, Olympiacos and Retirement.

During his career, Cambiasso won 21 official titles, the majority of which were won during his ten seasons at Inter Milan, including five Scudetti and the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League.

A full international from 2000 to 2011, Cambiasso won 52 caps for Argentina and represented the country at the 2006 World Cup, the 2005 Confederations Cup, and at the Copa América in 2007 and 2011.

Early Career and Breakthrough of Esteban Cambiasso

Cambiasso began his professional career with Argentinos Juniors in 1995, moving to Real Madrid in 1996 along with his brother Nicolás Cambiasso. In 1998, he moved back to Argentina, where he played for three years with Independiente and one with River Plate. With some good experience under his belt, he returned to Real Madrid in 2002. He helped Los Blancos win the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup in 2002, and the Liga and the Supercopa de España in 2003, also reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League that season. Cambiasso also reached the Copa del Rey final the following season.

Inter Milan of Esteban Cambiasso

In July 2004, Cambiasso signed with Serie A club Inter Milan after his contract with Real Madrid expired in June. He helped Inter win the Coppa Italia during his first season with the club, playing regularly as a defensive midfielder, partnered in the middle of Inter's midfield with fellow Argentine Juan Sebastián Verón. In Italy, he became known as one of the outstanding players of the 2004–05 season, along with Milan's Kaká.

During the return match of the 2006 Coppa Italia Final, Cambiasso scored an impressive goal, the first of the match, for the 3–1 victory over Roma. On 9 September 2006, he scored twice in the opening game of the season, with Inter defeating Fiorentina 3–2. On 7 November 2007, he along with Zlatan Ibrahimović scored a brace apiece to defeat CSKA Moscow 4–2 in the Champions League. On 23 December, Cambiasso scored the winning goal for Inter as they came from behind to defeat city rivals Milan 2–1 in the Derby della Madonnina.

On 23 March 2009, it was announced that Inter and Cambiasso had come to terms about a contract renewal, extending his contract at the club until 2014. He was important in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League win as well, scoring the second goal of a 2–1 victory over Chelsea at the San Siro, a result which ultimately helped Inter go on to win the final, 2–0, against Bayern Munich on 22 May 2010. In a Champions League match against Twente on 24 November, Cambiasso scored the game's only goal, securing a place in the knockout round for the holders. On 9 January 2011, Cambiasso scored twice as Inter came from a goal down to defeat Catania 2–1.

Cambiasso received the first red card of his Inter career on 30 March 2013 for a reckless tackle on Sebastian Giovinco; he was suspended for one match. On 22 September 2013, Cambiasso scored Inter's sixth goal in their 7–0 hammering of newly promoted club Sassuolo. Four days later, Cambiasso helped Inter come from a goal down at home to Fiorentina, scoring Inter's first goal in their 2–1 victory.

At the end of the 2013–14 season, Cambiasso left Inter as his contract expired and he was not offered an extension. Technical director Piero Ausilio said, "He waited for our decision until now, and for that he must be thanked, but I'm convinced that in his future he'll have a role at Inter."

Leicester City

On 28 August 2014, Cambiasso signed a one-year deal with newly promoted Premier League club Leicester City, joining on a free transfer, having been released by Inter at the end of their 2013–14 season. In his first interview since joining the club, Cambiasso cited the club's desperate pursuit of him and the lure of Premier League football as the reasons he signed. He was called up for his first game three days after signing, a 1–1 draw at the King Power Stadium against Arsenal, as an unused substitute. Cambiasso made his debut for Leicester on 13 September against Stoke City, coming on as a half-time substitute and impressing in the club's 1–0 win, their first of the league season. His first goal was an equaliser as Leicester beat Manchester United 5–3 at home after trailing 1–3 with 30 minutes to play. Cambiasso scored his second goal of the season, an opener in the fourth minute following an assist from Leonardo Ulloa, in a 3–2 loss against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. That was Leicester's first goal in 504 minutes without scoring, or 56 days. On 4 April 2015, Cambiasso gave Leicester a 12th-minute lead against West Ham United in a game that the Foxes would go on to win 2–1, their first league victory in eight matches, stretching back to 10 January 2015. This started a run of seven wins and one draw from Leicester's final nine Premier League fixtures, with the team finishing 14th in the table.

On 18 May 2015, at Leicester City's annual awards, Cambiasso's impressive performances over the course of the season saw him pick up the Player of the Year award, as voted by the club's supporters. On 24 May, Cambiasso scored in a 5–1 defeat of QPR in Leicester's final match of the Premier League season.

On 21 July 2015, it was announced that Cambiasso had been offered a new deal by the club, but turned the contract down, and he would be leaving the club.

Olympiacos

On 7 August 2015, Cambiasso signed a two-year deal with Greek giants Olympiacos. He scored his first goal for them on 2 December in a 4–0 away win against Panegialios in the group stage of the Greek Cup. He scored twice in 14 Super League Greece games as the Piraeus-based side retained their title, including the equaliser in a 3–1 home win over Panathinaikos in the Derby of the eternal enemies on 13 March 2016. Eleven days earlier, the first leg of the cup semi-final against PAOK, he scored in a 2–1 away win which was abandoned due to violence by the local fans.

Cambiassio renewed his contract on 11 July 2016. On 9 March 2017, he returned to the starting lineup as a result of the dismissal of Olympiacos manager Paulo Bento against Beşiktaş for the first leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 16 stage, and headed the opening goal of a 1–1 draw, later being named man of the match.

Retirement

On 8 September 2017, Cambiasso announced his retirement from professional football, two months after his contract with Olympiacos expired. Cambiasso's success in the official UEFA A Licence examinations in Coverciano, later allowing him to take up an assistant role in Serie A or B or head coach role Serie C in the future, influenced his decision to retire from the game.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esteban_Cambiasso), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.